With the recent loans released to School Trends and Valley Organics cumulative lending since The Co-operative Loan started in 2002 has topped £3m.

Although the fund was created to lend to co-operative business ventures that some lenders might regard as high risk, in fact the level of bad debt and write off is very low. In 2012 there was no write off at all.

The fund has been remarkably successful at recycling money in the co-operative sector. As one loan is repaid another is lent out. The total funds have effectively been lent out three times over since 2002.

At present at total of £950,000 is out on loan and there is some £700,000 available for lending to co-operative enterprises.